God in our Children

“I need to check something the computer!!” I hear Alyssa repeating my words from the living room while I am watching dishes and I think “oh, man, I say that way too much to her!”. I watch as she climbs up onto the couch and turns the laptop to face her direction and starts pressing keys. Suppressing the urge to tell her not to touch, I just continue washing dishes and wait to see what happens.

“Oh! God tells us to be kind. The bible says to listen and be nice to our friends. That’s what the computer says that God says. I have to be nice!”

WHAT?!?!!? When I use the computer it is for email and facebook and recipes and a myriad of other things – it isn’t generally to sit down and read God’s word (that’s what the cell phone is for!! lol!!) So she didn’t get that concept from me. I don’t think that is what shocked me most though. It was just the very idea that she was sitting there talking about God and His teaching like that. Isn’t she just a baby? How could she know that? Does that mean she actually comprehends what she learns in Sunday School and the things we talk about when we read bible stories and when we have those moments of life’s little lessons? Wow, have I been underestimating her and her ability to understand.

With that in mind, I went in search of a way to better my skills at teaching her God’s word. I know that example is an excellent learning tool. That means I need to be more intentional about “walking the walk and talking the talk”. I also know that God’s word is best learned by studying it. I am an awful example for that. I struggle to make that a priority in MY life, let alone for her. I thought “if I can’t do this in my own life, how can I be expected to do it in hers?”. I heard the words in my head that someone once shared “being in God’s word once may be all you can handle in a day. Be in it with your child and you will both benefit. Even when reading those passages you have studied before, you will now see it through the eyes of your child, opening up a new world and a new understanding. The benefits will be endless and the rewards will be great!”. So I purchased a little devotional for 2-5 year olds. Short little stories and an activity is just right for us. Between that and committing to read a bible story to her each day, I am hoping to grow along side of her in my knowledge and understanding and love for the Lord.

Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it. ~Proverbs 22:6